Sorry about part 2 coming so late, I haven't been feeling 100% for the past week, and I needed some recovery time. This is the part of the update that might be a little more spicy.
The Sulani Rags to Riches Challenge: The Orphan Merman: Calden Azure
The next morning, Calden swam back to the Wayfarer's Atoll Beach. There, he met up with Kylen again. Chatting with a friend was nice considering that he could only watch the shore from afar still.
Calden: "How are you today?"
Kylen: "Good, I'm just taking a break from looking after the family. We recently adopted a merboy. Me and Aaron have our hands full."
Kylen: "By the way, how's your family."
Calden: "I'm on my own, but I've met a lot of amazing merfolk in the Mua'Pel Am Pod, and they are helping me get used to living so close to humans."
Kylen: "That's good to hear. I better get going. Aaron does his best, but I should go back to help him. I swear, our family would fall apart without me."
Calden did a little more swimming when he saw Kemps. Because there was only so much a mer could do at the surface, he decided to chat with Kemps. Kemps took a long sigh. He was hoping for a peaceful swim away from his Elder responsibilities.
Calden: "Nice weather for a swim, am I right?"
Kemps: "It is. But if you'll excuse me, I have to go."
Calden: "Okay, I'll be here in the sea."
Kemps sighed again.
Calden spent the day swimming around Mua Pel'Am before returning to St. Taz, the island merfolk inhabited. He encountered Kemps near his shop.
Kemps: "I can see you've become more responsible and well-mannered since we last talked."
Calden interjected: "Does this mean what I think it means?"
Kemps: "My Nephews and the other members of the Pod think highly of you, and your reputation has improved. I think you have a lot to learn, but I don't think you'll learn it swimming around. But. You should be careful using your magic around humans. Try to avoid using the forbidden Siren's Call. The Siren's Call is a merperson's greatest form of self defense, and it should only be used in that way. It can be lethal if used on a human. If you must use your Siren's Call, ensure that the Human is close enough to the shore to survive. We do not aim to kill in the Mua Pel'Am Pod."
Calden: "I understand."
Kemps closed his eyes and sang a song woven with the magic of change. As a merman that carries the Elder Bloodline of the Blue Tails, his Inspiring Berceuse could give a merperson the gift of shapeshifting into a human form. As the acting Elder in the absence of the Elder Council, he offered this gift of change to Calden, effectively taking responsibility for what he does with the gift.
The two mermen swam to the shore. Calden was about to take his first steps in a human's form.
Calden curled his torso in as his tail flipped toward the shore. As his tail spun over him, he felt the change while he was underwater. He opened his eyes under the water and saw a pair of squid legs where his tail used to be. He was ecstatic.
Shortly after changing form, a tattoo materialized on his leg. He wasn't assure about why it was there, but he assumed that it had something to do with his transformation, a mark of what he truly was despite his new form. After taking his first steps, the merboy scavenged the beach for a few sea shells he could sell to buy more appropriate human clothes. He stuck out like a sore thumb, and Kemps didn't stick around to offer him a new wardrobe. For Calden, he felt that Kemps already did more than enough to help him.
After buying his new outfit, he harvested a plant he often saw near the shore. He saw the large seeds floating in the sea swimming around, and this time, he intended to taste it even if he didn't need to eat anything. But before taking a bite, returning to the sea was on his mind. Even if he didn't need to eat, he still needed to return to the sea. Even if it wasn't lethal to stay out of the water, dried scales were unbearably uncomfortable and the sea sustained his needs.
Calden was on land for only a short amount of time, but he still found himself drawn back to the water, his home.
Each dive into the crystal clear tropical waters was a refreshing escape from the Summer heat.
For the first time, Calden returned to the Wayfarer's Atoll and wandered the beach on squid legs. He found an odd game board and began fiddling with the pieces. His appearance on the shore attracted that attention of women twice his age!
(Twice his age based on the relative age comparison between merfolk and humans. Among merfolk, Calden is considered to be a merling, a child.)
Feeling overwhelmed, Calden returned to St. Taz and decided to take a bite of the coconuts he held onto.
Calden: "Bottoms up."
After eating his first human food, he had a spontaneous idea. He decided to contact all his friends and make a few more friends. After gathering everyone together, he created the Mer Bros Pod. Essentially a pod of brothers, a family he never had. Juniper, Zeph, Dylan, and Lyric were happy to be a part of the pod within the pod. Almost all the merfolk in the Mua Pel'Am pod were brothers, cousins, or brothers within the pod. This pod just made it official. They were brothers even they weren't related by blood.
The earrings weren't intentional, and I can't seem to get rid of them. It's very frustrating when the game adds an accessory and doesn't give the player ANY control over it. I guess it's what I get for trying to give them club outfits.
Naturally, one of the Club Activities was swimming. So the brothers did a lot of swimming.
Honestly, I didn't know how to make a conversation with these two because they are identical and impossible to tell apart. But, it was kinda cool to see them chatting. Normally, the game doesn't have them on the lot at the same time. I think they would be talking to each other about what the other thinks about the Mer Bros Pod. Dylan and Zeph's identical twin relationship makes their twin connection a little different from their other brotherly relationships.
As the night drew on, Calden, set up a school project on the beach. Juniper came to shore to check on him.
Juniper: "You look tired. Can I help?"
Calden: "I would appreciate that."
While Juniper and Calden worked on the school project, Rylan approached them and offered to help.
Dylan and Zeph also made their way over to help with the project. One of the twins had a burst of energy.
The Mer Bros gathered for so long that Calum showed up to check on his sons.
Personally, I think he just felt left out because he joined them as they swam around. Calum is very family oriented and enjoys being with family.
The next day, Calden received a text from Dylan who invited him to the Rhapsody Glade. Calden was excited to see a new place far from the sea. I bet you can't tell who is from Sulani.
Per the challenge, I wasn't going to travel outside of Sulani, but I didn't want to turn down the Elemental of the Sea. So, I made an exception.
Might I say, Lyric has some moves for being a merboy.
Spontaneously, the mermen did a group dance and represented Sulani with their awesome moves.
Calden: "I'm sure you'll find a way to reconnect. Just have a little faith."
Calden patted her on the back: "I'm sure everything will be okay."
Suddenly, the old lady turned angry, and she threw juice into Calden's face.
Calden left the old lady shortly after, a little upset by her reaction and wondering what he did wrong.
Extras
This isn't a part of the story because it would create so many plot holes, but I couldn't let what she did go, even if she had the paranoid trait and was a little crazy. I mean, I've had mood swings, but I still wouldn't do that to someone trying to help me.
Kylen actually makes for a decent entertainer. My only critique would be for him to be in Sulani Formal Attire as an Entertainer in Sulani. He's also the one that made the elder sad. The Kailani's have an Ancient Island Lineage. The Kailani's were originally humans that, over many generations, became pure blood merfolk as their human origins became more distant. They are members of the Mua Pel'Am pod now. They come from the ancient group of islanders that became Elementals, but they embraced the water element instead of becoming Elemental Spirits like the others.
When Calden went home, he choose to do his homework outside in a monsoon, a unique type of thunderstorm exclusive to Sulani with a lot of lightning.
Hello everyone, this is another update for my Stones and Adlers.
First some comments:
@Daephene That is some great perspective and comparison! Very true too! I enjoyed both your spellcaster and Retirement home updates, all the death were sad, but were coming... I loved the new romances that bloomed though too~
@sarabeth2984 Oh yeah! I do remember that save! I am excited to see what happens too heh, aah I can't wait for the teenhood but still more childhood things to get through aging off until then~ I heard phases can get stuck when rotating, I believe their is a cheat to fix it whenever you get sick of waiting for it to run out with Lisette
I know poor girl, and I saw that too, he looked irritated so I dunno, I got triggered though, Hazel is my baby! HAH good observation maybe it was karma but I have to admit glad he did not die either.
The romantic mod those interactions come from is a wonderful modder called Kiarasims, here is the link: https://kiarasims4mods.home.blog/2021/02 /06/romance-interaction-pack/
There is also a regular interactions pack that is really good too~
Yaaaay the Fontenots!!!! Rosie and Clint are what I am hoping Juliana and Max aspire too, they are great and in love but I LOVE the autonomous mushy-gushy stuff~ Aww Francesca is adorable! Inquisitive is so fun~ A daddy's girl! So sweet but oh no... I think that sentiment is a little to strong, but you are right is is game altering for sure!
I love this family~ Grace and Gage are coming into their own and ooo~ a little crush on Tierra, I am wondering where that might lead? Hehehe~ first crushes and sibling toffs love how you play through all of that~
Whoa I need to try playing as a plant sim sometime and wow she got abducted LOL, watching this family is great! I can't wait to see the camping update~
Vanessa had some snacks with Hazel when she came home from school that day.
This was their normal and the sandwich belongs to Dec who took it and ate it at the computer O.o I was so surprised I dd not get a pic!
At least he was streaming and earning some money for the household!
Vanessa decided to plant some holly since it was in season, the greenhouse she used to have, she got deconstructed and the money back for it because it needed to go into something more, fire damages, appliances that keep breaking and a gambling debt Dec had been trying to hide.... >.>
Vanessa was worried about Winterfest gifts she had so many ideas for Hazel and the girl really would love them, but did she have the simoleons?
At least Beck was able to help her get the mini flower making station for Hazel, the ten year old would spend hours watching her so why not help that interest?
Vanessa's and Beck's Date
Beck and Vanessa went out for a dinner date and they both had news to share.
Beck shared his thoughts on Amelia, and the fact he finally landed himself a substitute position at the local Landgraab Elementary.
Vanessa happily shared her thoughts and enthusiasm towards Amelia also thinking she was pregnant as well as the job landing, she had her own amazing career news, she made it to the botanist branch in the gardening career.
He was just as happy for her, they ate and chatted now and again becoming overly flattered and a little bashful with all the romance yet they enjoyed it~
These two are marshmallows and I went them to melt together forever!
Overcome by their shared sentiments (smitten) Beck let loose some lovey-dovey love he had been careful to hold back, he declared they were soulmates and Vanessa did not disagree!~
Also ignore the crazy sim in the pic lol
Beck was so filled with joy that Vanessa agreed they were soul mates that he said goodbye to her in this manner.
Beck was so elated and flushed in a passionate way , he flopped right into the snow spreading his arms out wide smiling like a dope into the cold wintry starry sky.
Life could hardly get better.... well it could but those things take time, Beck understood and respected that, his love was too great for his blonde beauty to do anything less but take it steady, it was too much for him to lose, if he pushed things but he valued to keep helping her, especially for herself.
A few days later after a lovely date, were Beck had confessed that she was his soulmate, she was still feeling flutterly flattered butterflies in her stomach and her heart raced lightly when she thought of it.
She was happily chatting with Hazel having a nice dinner, but she realized out of the corner of her eye Declan's state.
After "slipping up" again when the Stones were over, Vanessa actually demanded he go back to therapy, he had stopped.
She felt proud of that, proud of her own moves, at heart she was such a softie when it came to family.
But was Dec alright? It always kept her questioning, worried, she tried hard not to backtracking in her decisions.
Was she really doing the right things?
One thing she was sure of, she was doing decently raising Hazel, she had helped the girl cope and still coping through her loss of her first pet.
Hazel had even expressed a desire to have a bunny...but did not elaborate on a toy one or a real one, well! Vanessa talking with Rainbow and Mckenna in secret had both of those covered!
Hazel was really in the Winterfest spirit, making decorations for her room and others and painting and creating a lot of crafts for gifts to give!
A Good Weekend
Vanessa had a bit of research she had to do for her job, but she no longer would allow Dec alone with Hazel, so off to Brandie and Yu's house they would go.
Hazel was obviously excited to go and that her dad would come along too!
At ten, Hazel now even understand her daddy needed to be watched maybe even more than her.....
*Sigh*
He legit turned his back on this.... ever since Max came and Dec held all that hostility, jealously, and self pity it was seeping out to bitterness even disdain maybe.
Hazel hugged her friend Illana happily wondering though what she was watching? Her friend since toddlerhood had always been a bit wild, a tad bossy and always a trill seeker!
Jesse came over to also give Hazel a hug hello, they both wondered what in the world Illana was watching now? It did not seem like viodcritter's!
Jesse was always a sweet, quiet, yet slightly geeky boy and a very good ear to listen too.
Not to worry, mom to the rescue, she gave them all some pancakes, set the T. V. to between tweens and warned Illana to keep it there missy!
Illana huffed but did as told but she was not a baby anymore! She was 11!
Declan sat alone in the kitchen to eat his pancakes enough said.
After breakfast the kids ran outside to shoot around the ball and play a game of llama with each other before they went to their scouts meeting.
Declan decided to talk to Brandie who was listening to him and trying to hear out his kinda out there complaints about life.
After getting back from scouts the three swirled from their uniforms and was directed kindly but Brandie to pick an activity to go to this afternoon.
The three got in a little circle and offered suggestions and then voted on what they would like to do.
They all went to a family movie showing something about a squeal or something to the lost dogs movie, everyone was really excited to see it!
After the movie, Hazel brought out her journal and wrote down all the things she wanted to tell Rainbow about!
Hazel's Thoughts: Maybe she even saw it too! Anyways I can't wait to talk to her about it heh!
That night, Brandie had to go to work (Yu had been at a gaming conference this weekend) so Vanessa came over to babysit the kids through the night, there was a guest room for her and already a bed for Hazel there.
Don't worry she tucked in Jesse and Illana too knowing the twins very well by now.
She unwinded watching an old movie while some cereal marshmallow squares baked in the oven for a breakfast treat tomorrow.
She also texted back and forth with Beck~
The kids did enjoy them the next morning although apparently lol Jesse wanted something more filling first! xD
Like the day before, it was outside play on such a mild winter day, Hazel and Jesse swung happily on the swings while Illana ran around trying to catch a few insects and frogs to take to scouts.
Her motive for doing this? Most likely clouded in mischief, a skill she was actively gaining!
Once she found her bugs, she and Hazel happily had friendly races around the monkey bars.
Illana won them all of course but they both had fun!~
The trio went to scouts again and Brandie came back from a catering function, she was off for the rest of the day and Yu would be home this evening.
Vanessa and Brandie had no issues chatting to each other.
That evening Vanessa helped Hazel on a solo project in art and crafts constructing a bridge, they had a good time doing it.
However, they both got slightly annoyed by Declan who was not helping and just chatting about random nonsense things the whole time.
Finally Vanessa told him as decently as she could to go to sleep, he was obviously on something.
The two females got done and it was an amazing build!
Vanessa watched Hazel being so happy and then kissed her a well done and led her right up to bed routine, but a bit quicker, it was late time had slip a little!
The Stones
Mckenna was the cook of the house and she did not mind this, but she also thought it was time Max kept cooking and increasing his skill.... who knows she might not always be there to do the job for Rainbow and Lilith.
Speaking of the latter two, they should also start taking steps to do the same.
But for now, they should all enjoy their breakfast and get on with their day.
Normal And Loving Times
This is relatable!
Going to school or work in PJs!
Mckenna does everything autonomously, she is so independent always has been
A normal day, Rainbow continues to do home-school online now doing a project with students online.
Lilith is writing her latest book (all still unpublished, she is a nervous bean) Sippy Cups and Rubber Ducks.
Mckenna is making furniture for the house, i have a littlemssam's mod that allows you to craft more, so she is decking out the house!
They are always hugging and I live for it!
I know some people have their sims always hugging, but I have a mod to stops that but they kinda still do it and I am here for it
Rainbow enjoying the second book of the journey of young spell-caster Henry Puffer~ She is addicted to this series and the general idea of spellcasters!
Max is making lunch, he agrees with Mckenna that he should increase his cooking skill too, so he is making some nice sandwiches.
Everyone helps out around the house, it is very heart warming to see!~
Rainbow is cleaning the counters, I have a mod that lets kids do more.
A Little Get Together
For dinner, Max makes tacos and invites Julianna, and Angel, his wife and three kids over for dinner, sadly Matty could not make it.
This the only time you get to eat in your room miss, let that be clear! :O but it is cute she wanted to eat with the little toddler.
Everyone gathers in the living room and has a good time bonding and talking!
Oh-ho Juli is started to show~ the hoodie does a decent job but it is still shows~
A surprise and an even happier Rainbow~
The next morning, the two ate breakfast together, Lilith went to the library and Max to work.
"Hey kid, I need you too skedaddle for a bit today, kay? Go visit Juli."
"Sure! But hmmm, why so?"
"You'll see,"
"Oooooo~ Surprises~ Now I am more excited, heh!"
Mckenna heard happy screams coming from the house, she finished hanging up the laundry.
Rainbow came blazing out to glomp her in affection,
"ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou!"
"You're welcome Rainbow of course."
Mckenna had handcrafted and painted the clothing cubbies for Rainbow, for as long as Rainbow could remember she shared with Lilith!
And despite her disinterest of most technology, she got Rainbow a music thing since she wanted to dance and would be taking dance classes until scouts started back up in the spring!
Mckenna also crafted a bookcase, painted it and also painted the scale model ferryboat, the four of them had put it together and then Mckenna painted it for Rainbow.
And lastly her photo wall!
She turned it to a random song and tried it out, she had a blast!
After regular dancing was done, she found Mckenna's old exercise videos and put in the dancing one (This is because of kids can do more mod).
She was making cute faces so slight spam incoming~
This mod was done well, the kids feet go through the floor a bit and they may hover a bit, but hey, maybe they just have the dancing powers so amazingly hard lol.
In this pic she tried to do a spin but slipped but caught herself!
Feeling very energized she decided to go clean the bathroom! At a girl! (a mod by Zulf lets kids clean)
Rest Of The Rotation
While she does that the adults are conspiring lol
To go out to eat! Heh!
They had a lovely meal but they stayed a little longer so Rainbow could finish her drawing~
Also YAY! Max maxed out his parenting skill! Woot!
Rainbow waits for her breakfast burrito to be finished, lol what a Mckenna stance that is! xD
Her home-school meets up once in a while for field trips, Paisley her friend and fellow home schooler, mom was coming to collect Rainbow since she was a chaperone, to see an educational puppet show.
She came home and told Bunnybow all about it!
She also could not wait to tell Hazel all she learned and find out if her school did things like that!
These two got home from work and Max finished up a side job while Lilith finished up her book, they both ate lunch together and got the sentiment happy from closer quality time or something it was really cute!~
Rainbow helps her aunts write and woodwork by playing the violin
LOL! she did not sound too, too bad she is getting better! /spoiler]
Tiffany.
I'll leave what's going on here to your imaginations.
Side note: Had this on my mind all day but didn't get around to 'acting it out' in game.
So 2 of Sam's children were picking on Melony and her brother and 2 sisters(the three weren't present) about not being a 'true Denny' because they don't have the blonde hear. Feeling down, Melony heads to a park to sit down and sulk. Little does she know she's about to be paid a visit..
???: "Hey there, why the long face?"
Melony: "Met some DINOSAUR COUSINS OF MINE bagging on my hair color. "
???: "Why are they doing that?"
Melony: "Because most members of my family are blondes."
Melony: "Only my brother Henry and my sister Wanda inherited blondness from my mother, who got it from her mother and so forth."
???: "So..these guys making you feel like you're not part of the family?"
Melony: "Yes."
???: "How much do you know about your family?"
Melony: "Not much, I've only met Uncle Sam. No one talks about our family history beyond the stupid hair color!."(not to be confused with the US Tax man)
Melony: "I gotta admit, it feels weird..talking to a ghost."
???: "Oho! I wanna show you something.."
The two traveled to New Crest..
???: "So you don't know about this place?"
Melony: "..The Denny Family gallery? Who are you?"
???: "Go in and find out."
Melony: "WHAT IN THE HECK!?"
Laitha: Yep. You're greatgreatgreatgreatgreatgrandmother was born a brunette, just like you are right now. Don't let what those guys say about you or your siblings get to you. You are all my family and you will always belong."
@Metior_Ice If you decide to have Ember with a spellcaster, maybe Alexander would be better. The Goths always seem like they should be some kind of spookier occult to me rather than merfolk or fairies, and Alex makes a decent spellcaster in my game.
Thanks! I play with aging only in my active household, so any time a townie or premade becomes important to one of my played sims I have to either move them into a played household or age them with cake until they're old enough for the retirement community. I don't mind general background sims living eternally but if their relationships with my sims are significant I want them to have a normal lifespan. I never thought about having them killed off... but I have done that to a few townies to get my ghost household.
I enjoyed watching Calden experience the world on land.
@HillyBeth Brayden is so cute in those glasses! He looks like a little genius.
@Duvelina Poor Veronica, hope Max figures it out. They both looked very nice!
@DarkAngel1994 I am enjoying your Cinderella generation! Nice ball pictures.
@sarabeth2984 Thank you! The well was definitely good to Leslie! Clint is a good looking alien. I loved seeing a plantsim again... I have never had one in 4. I'll have to find a way to work them in somewhere.
@Lady_Earth I always love seeing Sims 2 Strangetown sims!
@Lucy_Henley Helen is pretty! Congrats to Caroline, that's quite an achievement!
@AngeliqueAdelaide I only have two unflirty sims so I haven't noticed that. Perhaps they're just shy and once in a relationship are perfectly happy to engage? As long as they don't have to see anyone else flirt in public, lol. How many children did Morgyn have again? Whatever made them decide to all have kids at the same time? Heh. Athena had 16 grandchildren but they range from YA to toddler at the moment. Much more manageable.
@Sepia Your sims are really nice looking. I like the pirate themed park! Cute date.
@DeafSimmer Zelda has come far. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have in store for them.
@Lyrie Thanks! I was surprised to lose Vivian so soon, but the others had been elders for a while so it wasn't unexpected. That leaves Supriya, Dennis and Bella as the last members of the first generation. Vanessa is an awesome sim, so glad she's there for Hazel and that Beck is there for her.
@SamDenny Lol. I have no idea but at least Strawberry bear is happy.
@AlwaysAsking Don't know if you're reading but you had asked about my ghost household so I wanted to let you know I'm posting about them.
Ok, so my ghost household is the playable ghost versions of Diego Lobo, Don Lothario and Gunther Munch.
Diego and Tarsus, the living sim he managed to get engaged to last rotation, are still going strong. Even though one of them is doing a serial romantic aspiration and the other is non-committal. Oh, and one of them being dead.
Don is constantly exercising, so since I have university now I got him a bike and have not regretted it, even if he does ride it in the house.
And Gunther has decided to become a medium... how does that even work when you're dead? He gets to experience the new scared emotion a lot.
Pretty much every other picture I took of them this weekend has pumpkins on their heads because that's my favorite thing about ghosts. For pumpkin-headed shenanigans, check under this spoiler.
Things that are funnier with pumpkin heads - leaf burning, fire-dancing, dating, lightsaber duels, exercising... and pretty much everything.
They also have a living Patchy, so their seances...
And for how they deal with the haunted house trait and fear emotion, look under this one:
So I mentioned seances under the other spoiler.
I added the haunted house trait and the Guidry painting to their lot. At first the specters were cute.
They actually are still cute when they scowl.
But then they get mean.
So Gunther gave them plenty of presents. Mostly grilled fruit that Don harvested from the garden and Diego cooked.
They never turned down grilled fruit. They left little gifts too. Deigo Likes ectocake.
Over time things got a little weirder.
These puddles freaked Patchy out.
So Patchy freaked Don out.
Guidry appeared, and met Diego first.
Gunther asked him some serious questions, and asked for help when he was scared.
Diego had other priorities.
They held a seance while wearing ghost-carved pumpkins (both ghosts carved in the pumpkins and pumpkins carved by ghosts!)
We got as far as creepy doll appearing and then their week was up. I'm glad though, I didn't want to finish all the gameplay in one rotation.
OK, and one more spoiler for shots of my other sims in the background.
My Halloween themed restaurant has sims come in party dress, which for my sims means costumes. I caught Gillian and Cass once again.
And Finnian, Morgan and Farrah.
Also I have never used this cauldron light show before. Cordelia seems to enjoy it.
Later at my fancy restaurant I saw Klaatu taking his girlfriend Ember on a date.
Not so much my sims, but Don's married girlfriend showed up with her husband... can't imagine why she's cheating with a ghost but might have something to do with excessive accessories.
So that's it for this week! I have decided for the future that Gunther will wear green pumpkins, Diego white, and Don pale orange, so I can more easily tell who's who in the screenshots! It was a challenge this time. I'll use the dark orange as decorations once they have enough handiness to preserve them.
Happy Simming!
@Daephene Thanks for the info. Aging is turned off in my game, and the most important households are likely to stick around for a while. For my humans, I do plan to age them up until they are seniors. I guess I'll start a retirement home household once they've aged up.
As for Alex, I think the spellcaster route might be a better idea. However, he needs that potion of immortality to stay young forever. On the other hand, I did think of another option. The potion of youth could be another way for sims to halt their aging.
@Daephene It made me laugh seeing Gunther as a ghost. Isn't he Lucas's older brother that won't leave the house?
I also forgot to respond about Calden. He's definitely enjoying the human world, but I need to get cracking down on the skill building and character values. He's halfway through his rotation and he still has a ways to go. Merfolk in my game get twice as long as humans before aging up, so He has another rotation. Once he reaches young adult, he'll stop aging. Adult is the maximum age for merfolk in my game. I'm trying to avoid issues with how the game recognizes relationships.
For the Kailani Legacy, I'll have to turn family members into townies once they become adults.
@Daephene - Be prepared for more Singles action now that...
The Singles: Larry and Chloe are married and have their own place to live. Erin has moved in with the Capp family and I'm planning on moving Cielo into the original Singles household (which now just has Kristin, Bud and Lola in it).
Here's Bud at a birthday party, trying to convince all the toddlers of how cool he is. He even tried to hug one of them and got promptly rejected for it.
When Bud is not at his job as a small time crime boss, he's taking care of him and Lola's daughter, Marcy. (Named after the Bundy's neighbor from the show.)
Thanks, @Daephene for the welcome. I enjoyed looking at your ghost Lobo and Tarsus, and your game made me realize there is still fun to be had in Sims4 maybe, though all my play time has gone to Sims3 now.
I can't cope with the volume and speed of this thread, but dimly remembered there were like 2 people who might want a heads-up, if they're even still watching this thread, which I also don't know. But it looks like a thriving and creative space.
Racism is EVERYONE's fight #BLM #StopAsianHate
Let's make Liberty and Justice For All a reality.
Ooh I forgot about the Plum Tree App. That’ll be useful for keeping track of all my Sims! I always say I’m not much of a planner... but I have already thought of possible names for the third generation of Mastersons, despite the fact that Erytheia, Xanthe, Artemis and Apollo are still teenagers I can start the family trees anyway.
@sarabeth2984
Good to hear that I am not the only one who thinks so! Hypocrites, the whole bunch of them - throwing fits whenever anyone is romantic in public, only to turn around and autonomously pick up a love interest or ten. I have seen, for example, Darling Walsh getting more action than most of my romance sims. And not only her - my sweet, good and unflirty Marianna went and autonomously hooked up with three different guys, two of whom were already seeing other people. I ended up changing her unflirty trait to romantic, as she clearly is not unflirty at all. She actually flirts less now
@Daephene
I have actually stopped playing unflirty sims, because all this trait does is make them throw fits whenever they see people being romantic, only to turn around and behave even worse. There are several unplayed unflirty sims in my game, though, and all of them keep picking up lovers left and right, not exactly how I´d envision unflirty sims behaving.
Morgyn has, let me think... 7 children, including two sets of twins (there are actually more, but Esme would kill and eat anyone who mentions the nameof her father and the rest are not currently living at this timeline. Out of seven, only the eldest is without a kid of her own (she is family-oriented and intends to have some in the future, but both she and her husband are currently too busy with their studies and getting his photo business going to deal with kids. Plus her husband has 4 grandchildren they regularly babysit.)
There are several multiples among the grandchildren: a set of quaduplets, a set of triplets and three sets of twins. They weren´t all born at the same time, I just play rotationally and keep running from the adorable, exhausting toddlers before they are ready to age up. The quads are the eldest and will age up next time I play their household.
@mightysprite
Thanks! Easier said than done I tried once to get 8 of them to be at the same place at the same time to take pictures, but they kept running all over the house and one kept wandering outside in her partywear to play in snow until I had to lock the door to keep her from freezing to death. Might try again in the future with the help of poseplayer.
It's been a while since I picked up the Sims again (but I've been on the sidelines reading all the updates and stuff), so Sentiments are still new to me. I wonder how good th-
I LOVE THIS OH MY GOD.
I haven't seen this happen in my game, but I haven't played the Darkfins Household or Morbius Household (My Evil Sim Households).
@Daephene For Alex and Lucas I think I'll decide based on their looks when they grow up. I know the game can do weird things with genetics and aging up.
For Alexander: I'm torn between a spellcaster, vampire, or scientist. I can see a spellcaster drinking a potion of immortality while the scientist can create an immortality serum. The vampire route would be the easiest.
For Lucas: I think turning him into a merman would actually work. All my merfolk almost always get the Outdoorsy, Energetic, and Adventurous Lifestyles doing the things that come naturally to merfolk. I think these lifestyles fit Lucas's character.
I think Ember could get along with a half-blood merman that enjoys life on land.
Decided to give TS4 another chance since there was a sale (got base game free long time ago but only recently tried it out and wasn't too impressed). Bought Seasons, Vampires & Parenthood. Have had fun with them. Anyhow…
Axel’s plan to play the evil vampire has had some mixed results. He goes to hunt, picks a house at random and invites himself in just when the doofus resident sets their grill on fire and rushes out. The other one is too busy watching a blank TV.
Axel autonomously goes to put out the fire looking irritated all the while.
Then he drinks her dry and leaves without saying a word. I guess the residents must have conflicting feelings about him . Like yeah, Imma just walk in to heroically save you and then do my evil vampire thing and leave.
So, I have about 1 and a half sim weeks before I start my Sulani Rags to Riches challenge.
My rules are simple. I'm limiting my sim to Island Living Content and whatever he can afford to buy from the Undine Emporium run by Kemps.
My sim will be a merman. 🧜🏼♂️
He will be a teenager with the goal to get all 5 character values in the positive for the traits.
He will be limited to 1 odd job a week for income.
He can beach comb for shells, and he can sell only one collectible per week.
Items that can't be purchased in a store, for example: rugs, counters, roof objects like solar panels and wind turbines, can be purchased from the catalog.
Lot Traits will be limited to Island Living Lot Traits: Volcanic Activity, Island Spirits, and Off the Grid.
Using Carl's Guide, I identified which levels unlock different things. So, when a sim reaches these levels in handiness, they should be able to perform upgrades on the objects used in the room. The Logic skill can take a long time to build up. If more than one sim is in the household, I would delay things more by requiring all of them to reach these levels. Items for a room can be purchased from the store.
Mandatory Steps for Building a Bathroom.
Level 2 Handiness
Level 3 Logic
Mandatory Steps for Building a Bedroom
Level 4 Handiness
Level 4 Logic
Mandatory Steps for Building a Kitchen/ Dining Room
Level 5 Handiness
Level 5 Cooking (Unlocks Gourmet Cooking and allows your sim to cook food the eat in a restaurant or from a food stall)
Level 6 Logic
Mandatory Steps for Building a Family Living Room
Level 7 Handiness
Level 7 Logic
Mandatory Steps for Building a Study with a Computer
Level 8 Handiness
Level 9 Logic
For waterfront lots and building pools:
Mandatory Steps for Building a Hot Tub and Bar
Level 10 Handiness
Level 4 Mixology
Level 10 Logic
20,000 Simoleans (Pools require the catalog)
Money Goal:
200,000 (The required amount to complete the Fabulously Wealthy Aspiration)
I'm certain that I'm forgetting something, and I had to dig up one of my oldest posts from when I experimented with the challenge to add to this post.
After everything I've done in the game, I'm still setting up my households. I did have a few glitches brake my saves and force a restart.
My only augmentation to these rules for my Island Living Rags to Riches challenge will be that all items found beach combing can be sold, but the Island Living Collections still need to be completed, and the items found beach combing can still be useful enough to not sell. Almost all of them have a functional use, so it does make selling them a difficult choice.
The Collections that must be completed are as follows:
The Sea Shells Collection
The Buried Treasure
All Island Living Fish (Without braking any conservation laws)
All Island Living Plants
All Island Living Photos
All Crystals, Fossils, Metals, and Geodes without leaving Sulani or buying them. The presence of a Volcano means that these things are very accessible in many different ways.
Because I have set up lots that have complete collections, it will be off limits to steal from Conservation Museums or other lots with collectibles in them.
All collectibles must be kept in the house. Meaning that this can be a real challenge given the fines for gathering some collectibles in the wrong way. This also makes being a merman, mermaid, or simply having the Child of the Ocean trait very important.
Before aging up, the sim must have five character values, ideally positive but they can be negative, and an A in high school.
The Merman in my game will be the third youngest in the pod, and for manual aging up, a time limit of one sim month or simply waiting for the desired goals to be completed is acceptable. This challenge is designed with auto aging turned off in mind.
I'm going to try and reach the age up goals before the end of his rotation.
I think the Biology Degree is a must for the Conservation Career, but the sim must attend University from Home. Merfolk must become Marine Biologists. Human Islanders must become conservationists.
There should be a moral dilemma for acquiring income. The conservationist career is unlocked after the degree for it is completed. This should mean that odd jobs and beachcombing should be the only source of income until the sim can go to University.
Purchases from anything in world is acceptable provided the funds are available.
Last Edit: The Mansion Baron Aspiration will also be a required aspiration.
I wanted to make another edit for my income rules. Because Tips can't be turned off, and even though Calden played horribly and still received tips, I think tips received while practicing music can be allowed. Intentionally soliciting for tips is not.
On another note, I noticed that I set up a museum that gives several options for improving skills. Most importantly, it's an Eco Center dedicated to research. I made the lot an Arts Center to increase foot traffic, and the lot can be a community space as well. This means that I will get my income by selling items at a market stall from now on.
@mightysprite You have to carve the jack-o-lantern on the carving table that comes with Spooky Stuff, then drag the finished product to a spot on the floor or ground. After that your ghost can either possess (like other objects) or wear the carved pumpkin. They disappear after a while; I suspect it's when they spoil. Or they can take them off, which is funny because they basically do a cannonball leap into the ground and leave the pumpkin behind.
Laffer: Larry and Chloe have so far have a decent marriage despite Larry being non-committal.
Here's Nancy Landgrab being naked during one of their dates.
Larry ended up getting beamed up aliens, but didn't end up pregnant. Then again, he is at the Adult stage.
I named their son, Lovage, which is the last name of Larry's nephew (who is also named Larry). While he has his father's wider face, he's got his mother's nose.
Finally, Lovage has his own charm as he hugs his aunt Lola.
I set up the Masterson family tree on the app. No pictures yet, I'll get those next time I play.
For now, I have some screenshots of the last time I played the Paraskevas family. Some of this is from Alexander's POV, some is from Anastasia's POV.
I also used a cheat to give both Alexander and Helen the "weak bloodline" trait as they didn't already have it, I'm guessing because they were generated in CAS.
***
Paraskevas Family: Alexander
I was feeling rather tired, but I didn't want to go to bed yet... it was New Year's Eve! So I grabbed some coffee and settled down to watch the New Year's Eve TV.
Soon, it was time for the countdown, and we all began chanting along... zershooby!
Midnight struck. My parents shared a kiss and I hugged Helen.
The next day, I learned that the Festival of Youth was taking place in Mt Komorebi. Mum and I decided to take Helen along.
"It looks pretty cool," I remarked to Mum, looking around. "If only I was still a kid..."
Whilst Helen sat down at one of the art tables, Mum grabbed a plate of yaki soba and we sat down at a bench.
"It is a shame that there's nothing for teens here," Mum said. "Why don't you invite Erytheia to come over?"
"Good idea."
Helen, meanwhile, was having a great time. She had fun finding virtual voidcritters and taking selfies with Yamachan.
"You know, Love Day's coming up soon," I said, sitting next to Erytheia.
"Yeah. We should go out on a date," she replied. "Hopefully Mum won't turn up this time."
"Oh yeah, that was embarrassing," I grinned.
"And we should probably kiss somewhere more romantic than our upstairs bathroom," she grinned ruefully. "Why I thought that was a good idea..."
"Well, it was the only place we were going to get privacy, we had a club meeting going on remember?"
Paraskevas Family: Anastasia
Part of my job one day was to spray graffiti in public. It felt a little wrong, but no-one came to interrupt me as I sprayed.
I went to the Humour and Hijinks festival that evening, and invited Caroline Masterson to join me. We decided to join the Jokesters team.
We had fun setting off fireworks and chatting.
"You know, we haven't had a Spellcasters Unite meeting in ages," I remarked.
"No, well, life's been busy... but we really should," Caroline agreed.
"I wonder if our kids will get together and create a teen spellcasters club? It may only consist of them, but it'd be fun for them all to practise."
"Yes, that's true," Caroline said. "They could call it Ginger Teen Spellcasters."
We both laughed.
When Alexander came home from school one day, I could tell he was having a mood swing. Knowing full well what they were like, I sensibly stayed out of the way and got on with making Helen's birthday cake.
Soraya has taken a bit of a break from her Youtube career to focus more on her club. The girls came over and had a great time outside.
They did their best to avoid Kaylyn, who was upset about a bird attack.
Thankfully, it was nothing a little retail therapy couldn’t cure. She got some new outfits for the warmer weather.
Then, she had a club meeting of her own to play cards and gossip.
(Heading over to the Spivey-Joneses so that I could finally put them in a decent house.)
The family welcomed the Hargroves over as their first guests.
Soraya came over and was uncharacteristically angry about... something.
But a few jokes from her sister, Kaylyn, put her in better spirits to have fun.
Deon Spivey has picked up a bunch of weight. He is going to work on jogging more, but maybe he should put down the grilled cheeses before he does that.
A few miles on the treadmill and voila! He’s looking much leaner.
(Back to the Hargroves.)
Kali and Simon are discussing their upcoming trip to a French village. Maybe they should invite the Spivey-Joneses?
I love the name Sigrid Goth, SamDenny! In the dystopian legacy challenge I have been playing for the last two months the old kindergarten teacher has just died and all of the toddler boys and the new caretaker ended up being very sad and crying :(
Comments
The Island Elemental Twins Index:
https://theislandelementaltwins.blogspot.com/2020/12/index-httpsforums.html
The Sulani Rags to Riches Challenge: The Orphan Merman: Calden Azure
The next morning, Calden swam back to the Wayfarer's Atoll Beach. There, he met up with Kylen again. Chatting with a friend was nice considering that he could only watch the shore from afar still.
Calden: "How are you today?"
Kylen: "Good, I'm just taking a break from looking after the family. We recently adopted a merboy. Me and Aaron have our hands full."
Calden: "I'm on my own, but I've met a lot of amazing merfolk in the Mua'Pel Am Pod, and they are helping me get used to living so close to humans."
Kylen: "That's good to hear. I better get going. Aaron does his best, but I should go back to help him. I swear, our family would fall apart without me."
Calden did a little more swimming when he saw Kemps. Because there was only so much a mer could do at the surface, he decided to chat with Kemps. Kemps took a long sigh. He was hoping for a peaceful swim away from his Elder responsibilities.
Calden: "Nice weather for a swim, am I right?"
Kemps: "It is. But if you'll excuse me, I have to go."
Calden: "Okay, I'll be here in the sea."
Kemps sighed again.
Calden spent the day swimming around Mua Pel'Am before returning to St. Taz, the island merfolk inhabited. He encountered Kemps near his shop.
Kemps: "I can see you've become more responsible and well-mannered since we last talked."
Calden interjected: "Does this mean what I think it means?"
Kemps: "My Nephews and the other members of the Pod think highly of you, and your reputation has improved. I think you have a lot to learn, but I don't think you'll learn it swimming around. But. You should be careful using your magic around humans. Try to avoid using the forbidden Siren's Call. The Siren's Call is a merperson's greatest form of self defense, and it should only be used in that way. It can be lethal if used on a human. If you must use your Siren's Call, ensure that the Human is close enough to the shore to survive. We do not aim to kill in the Mua Pel'Am Pod."
Calden: "I understand."
Kemps closed his eyes and sang a song woven with the magic of change. As a merman that carries the Elder Bloodline of the Blue Tails, his Inspiring Berceuse could give a merperson the gift of shapeshifting into a human form. As the acting Elder in the absence of the Elder Council, he offered this gift of change to Calden, effectively taking responsibility for what he does with the gift.
The two mermen swam to the shore. Calden was about to take his first steps in a human's form.
Calden curled his torso in as his tail flipped toward the shore. As his tail spun over him, he felt the change while he was underwater. He opened his eyes under the water and saw a pair of squid legs where his tail used to be. He was ecstatic.
Shortly after changing form, a tattoo materialized on his leg. He wasn't assure about why it was there, but he assumed that it had something to do with his transformation, a mark of what he truly was despite his new form. After taking his first steps, the merboy scavenged the beach for a few sea shells he could sell to buy more appropriate human clothes. He stuck out like a sore thumb, and Kemps didn't stick around to offer him a new wardrobe. For Calden, he felt that Kemps already did more than enough to help him.
After buying his new outfit, he harvested a plant he often saw near the shore. He saw the large seeds floating in the sea swimming around, and this time, he intended to taste it even if he didn't need to eat anything. But before taking a bite, returning to the sea was on his mind. Even if he didn't need to eat, he still needed to return to the sea. Even if it wasn't lethal to stay out of the water, dried scales were unbearably uncomfortable and the sea sustained his needs.
Calden was on land for only a short amount of time, but he still found himself drawn back to the water, his home.
Each dive into the crystal clear tropical waters was a refreshing escape from the Summer heat.
For the first time, Calden returned to the Wayfarer's Atoll and wandered the beach on squid legs. He found an odd game board and began fiddling with the pieces. His appearance on the shore attracted that attention of women twice his age!
Feeling overwhelmed, Calden returned to St. Taz and decided to take a bite of the coconuts he held onto.
Calden: "Bottoms up."
After eating his first human food, he had a spontaneous idea. He decided to contact all his friends and make a few more friends. After gathering everyone together, he created the Mer Bros Pod. Essentially a pod of brothers, a family he never had. Juniper, Zeph, Dylan, and Lyric were happy to be a part of the pod within the pod. Almost all the merfolk in the Mua Pel'Am pod were brothers, cousins, or brothers within the pod. This pod just made it official. They were brothers even they weren't related by blood.
Naturally, one of the Club Activities was swimming. So the brothers did a lot of swimming.
As the night drew on, Calden, set up a school project on the beach. Juniper came to shore to check on him.
Juniper: "You look tired. Can I help?"
Calden: "I would appreciate that."
While Juniper and Calden worked on the school project, Rylan approached them and offered to help.
Dylan and Zeph also made their way over to help with the project. One of the twins had a burst of energy.
The Mer Bros gathered for so long that Calum showed up to check on his sons.
Personally, I think he just felt left out because he joined them as they swam around. Calum is very family oriented and enjoys being with family.
The next day, Calden received a text from Dylan who invited him to the Rhapsody Glade. Calden was excited to see a new place far from the sea. I bet you can't tell who is from Sulani.
Might I say, Lyric has some moves for being a merboy.
Spontaneously, the mermen did a group dance and represented Sulani with their awesome moves.
Later that evening, Calden returned to Sulani to work on his logic skill. This time, he visited the popular Sulani lounge, Ohan'Ali Surf Bar. There, he met the Human Chief of the islands. She seemed visibly sad, so Calden tried to cheer her up.
Calden: "What's wrong?"
Keala: "I feel distant from the islands."
Calden: "I'm sure you'll find a way to reconnect. Just have a little faith."
Calden patted her on the back: "I'm sure everything will be okay."
Suddenly, the old lady turned angry, and she threw juice into Calden's face.
Calden left the old lady shortly after, a little upset by her reaction and wondering what he did wrong.
Extras
This isn't a part of the story because it would create so many plot holes, but I couldn't let what she did go, even if she had the paranoid trait and was a little crazy. I mean, I've had mood swings, but I still wouldn't do that to someone trying to help me.
Kylen actually makes for a decent entertainer. My only critique would be for him to be in Sulani Formal Attire as an Entertainer in Sulani. He's also the one that made the elder sad. The Kailani's have an Ancient Island Lineage. The Kailani's were originally humans that, over many generations, became pure blood merfolk as their human origins became more distant. They are members of the Mua Pel'Am pod now. They come from the ancient group of islanders that became Elementals, but they embraced the water element instead of becoming Elemental Spirits like the others.
When Calden went home, he choose to do his homework outside in a monsoon, a unique type of thunderstorm exclusive to Sulani with a lot of lightning.
First some comments:
@Daephene That is some great perspective and comparison! Very true too! I enjoyed both your spellcaster and Retirement home updates, all the death were sad, but were coming... I loved the new romances that bloomed though too~
@sarabeth2984 Oh yeah! I do remember that save! I am excited to see what happens too heh, aah I can't wait for the teenhood but still more childhood things to get through aging off until then~ I heard phases can get stuck when rotating, I believe their is a cheat to fix it whenever you get sick of waiting for it to run out with Lisette
I know poor girl, and I saw that too, he looked irritated so I dunno, I got triggered though, Hazel is my baby! HAH good observation maybe it was karma but I have to admit glad he did not die either.
The romantic mod those interactions come from is a wonderful modder called Kiarasims, here is the link: https://kiarasims4mods.home.blog/2021/02 /06/romance-interaction-pack/
There is also a regular interactions pack that is really good too~
Yaaaay the Fontenots!!!! Rosie and Clint are what I am hoping Juliana and Max aspire too, they are great and in love but I LOVE the autonomous mushy-gushy stuff~ Aww Francesca is adorable!
I love this family~ Grace and Gage are coming into their own and ooo~ a little crush on Tierra, I am wondering where that might lead? Hehehe~ first crushes and sibling toffs love how you play through all of that~
Whoa I need to try playing as a plant sim sometime and wow she got abducted LOL, watching this family is great! I can't wait to see the camping update~
Shout outs from updates that I just enjoy from @Lucy_Henley, @Metior_Ice @DarkAngel1994 (I need to check back up on Disney Princess story but love the new challenge) @Duvelina @Sepia and @sunblond {Welcome back! Enjoying your enteries!).
Adlers
Vanessa had some snacks with Hazel when she came home from school that day.
This was their normal and the sandwich belongs to Dec who took it and ate it at the computer O.o I was so surprised I dd not get a pic!
At least he was streaming and earning some money for the household!
Vanessa decided to plant some holly since it was in season, the greenhouse she used to have, she got deconstructed and the money back for it because it needed to go into something more, fire damages, appliances that keep breaking and a gambling debt Dec had been trying to hide.... >.>
Vanessa was worried about Winterfest gifts she had so many ideas for Hazel and the girl really would love them, but did she have the simoleons?
At least Beck was able to help her get the mini flower making station for Hazel, the ten year old would spend hours watching her so why not help that interest?
Vanessa's and Beck's Date
Beck shared his thoughts on Amelia, and the fact he finally landed himself a substitute position at the local Landgraab Elementary.
Vanessa happily shared her thoughts and enthusiasm towards Amelia also thinking she was pregnant as well as the job landing, she had her own amazing career news, she made it to the botanist branch in the gardening career.
He was just as happy for her, they ate and chatted now and again becoming overly flattered and a little bashful with all the romance yet they enjoyed it~
These two are marshmallows and I went them to melt together forever!
Overcome by their shared sentiments (smitten) Beck let loose some lovey-dovey love he had been careful to hold back, he declared they were soulmates and Vanessa did not disagree!~
Also ignore the crazy sim in the pic lol
Beck was so filled with joy that Vanessa agreed they were soul mates that he said goodbye to her in this manner.
Beck was so elated and flushed in a passionate way , he flopped right into the snow spreading his arms out wide smiling like a dope into the cold wintry starry sky.
Life could hardly get better.... well it could but those things take time, Beck understood and respected that, his love was too great for his blonde beauty to do anything less but take it steady, it was too much for him to lose, if he pushed things but he valued to keep helping her, especially for herself.
A few days later after a lovely date, were Beck had confessed that she was his soulmate, she was still feeling flutterly flattered butterflies in her stomach and her heart raced lightly when she thought of it.
She was happily chatting with Hazel having a nice dinner, but she realized out of the corner of her eye Declan's state.
After "slipping up" again when the Stones were over, Vanessa actually demanded he go back to therapy, he had stopped.
She felt proud of that, proud of her own moves, at heart she was such a softie when it came to family.
But was Dec alright? It always kept her questioning, worried, she tried hard not to backtracking in her decisions.
Was she really doing the right things?
One thing she was sure of, she was doing decently raising Hazel, she had helped the girl cope and still coping through her loss of her first pet.
Hazel had even expressed a desire to have a bunny...but did not elaborate on a toy one or a real one, well! Vanessa talking with Rainbow and Mckenna in secret had both of those covered!
Hazel was really in the Winterfest spirit, making decorations for her room and others and painting and creating a lot of crafts for gifts to give!
A Good Weekend
Hazel was obviously excited to go and that her dad would come along too!
At ten, Hazel now even understand her daddy needed to be watched maybe even more than her.....
*Sigh*
He legit turned his back on this.... ever since Max came and Dec held all that hostility, jealously, and self pity it was seeping out to bitterness even disdain maybe.
Hazel hugged her friend Illana happily wondering though what she was watching? Her friend since toddlerhood had always been a bit wild, a tad bossy and always a trill seeker!
Jesse came over to also give Hazel a hug hello, they both wondered what in the world Illana was watching now? It did not seem like viodcritter's!
Jesse was always a sweet, quiet, yet slightly geeky boy and a very good ear to listen too.
Not to worry, mom to the rescue, she gave them all some pancakes, set the T. V. to between tweens and warned Illana to keep it there missy!
Illana huffed but did as told but she was not a baby anymore! She was 11!
Declan sat alone in the kitchen to eat his pancakes enough said.
After breakfast the kids ran outside to shoot around the ball and play a game of llama with each other before they went to their scouts meeting.
Declan decided to talk to Brandie who was listening to him and trying to hear out his kinda out there complaints about life.
After getting back from scouts the three swirled from their uniforms and was directed kindly but Brandie to pick an activity to go to this afternoon.
The three got in a little circle and offered suggestions and then voted on what they would like to do.
They all went to a family movie showing something about a squeal or something to the lost dogs movie, everyone was really excited to see it!
After the movie, Hazel brought out her journal and wrote down all the things she wanted to tell Rainbow about!
Hazel's Thoughts: Maybe she even saw it too! Anyways I can't wait to talk to her about it heh!
That night, Brandie had to go to work (Yu had been at a gaming conference this weekend) so Vanessa came over to babysit the kids through the night, there was a guest room for her and already a bed for Hazel there.
Don't worry she tucked in Jesse and Illana too knowing the twins very well by now.
She unwinded watching an old movie while some cereal marshmallow squares baked in the oven for a breakfast treat tomorrow.
She also texted back and forth with Beck~
The kids did enjoy them the next morning although apparently lol Jesse wanted something more filling first! xD
Like the day before, it was outside play on such a mild winter day, Hazel and Jesse swung happily on the swings while Illana ran around trying to catch a few insects and frogs to take to scouts.
Her motive for doing this? Most likely clouded in mischief, a skill she was actively gaining!
Once she found her bugs, she and Hazel happily had friendly races around the monkey bars.
Illana won them all of course but they both had fun!~
The trio went to scouts again and Brandie came back from a catering function, she was off for the rest of the day and Yu would be home this evening.
Vanessa and Brandie had no issues chatting to each other.
That evening Vanessa helped Hazel on a solo project in art and crafts constructing a bridge, they had a good time doing it.
However, they both got slightly annoyed by Declan who was not helping and just chatting about random nonsense things the whole time.
Finally Vanessa told him as decently as she could to go to sleep, he was obviously on something.
The two females got done and it was an amazing build!
Vanessa watched Hazel being so happy and then kissed her a well done and led her right up to bed routine, but a bit quicker, it was late time had slip a little!
The Stones
Mckenna was the cook of the house and she did not mind this, but she also thought it was time Max kept cooking and increasing his skill.... who knows she might not always be there to do the job for Rainbow and Lilith.
Speaking of the latter two, they should also start taking steps to do the same.
But for now, they should all enjoy their breakfast and get on with their day.
Normal And Loving Times
Going to school or work in PJs!
Mckenna does everything autonomously, she is so independent always has been
A normal day, Rainbow continues to do home-school online now doing a project with students online.
Lilith is writing her latest book (all still unpublished, she is a nervous bean) Sippy Cups and Rubber Ducks.
Mckenna is making furniture for the house, i have a littlemssam's mod that allows you to craft more, so she is decking out the house!
They are always hugging and I live for it!
I know some people have their sims always hugging, but I have a mod to stops that but they kinda still do it and I am here for it
Rainbow enjoying the second book of the journey of young spell-caster Henry Puffer~ She is addicted to this series and the general idea of spellcasters!
Max is making lunch, he agrees with Mckenna that he should increase his cooking skill too, so he is making some nice sandwiches.
Everyone helps out around the house, it is very heart warming to see!~
Rainbow is cleaning the counters, I have a mod that lets kids do more.
A Little Get Together
This the only time you get to eat in your room miss, let that be clear! :O but it is cute she wanted to eat with the little toddler.
Everyone gathers in the living room and has a good time bonding and talking!
Oh-ho Juli is started to show~ the hoodie does a decent job but it is still shows~
A surprise and an even happier Rainbow~
"Hey kid, I need you too skedaddle for a bit today, kay? Go visit Juli."
"Sure! But hmmm, why so?"
"You'll see,"
"Oooooo~ Surprises~ Now I am more excited, heh!"
Mckenna heard happy screams coming from the house, she finished hanging up the laundry.
Rainbow came blazing out to glomp her in affection,
"ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou!"
"You're welcome Rainbow of course."
Mckenna had handcrafted and painted the clothing cubbies for Rainbow, for as long as Rainbow could remember she shared with Lilith!
And despite her disinterest of most technology, she got Rainbow a music thing since she wanted to dance and would be taking dance classes until scouts started back up in the spring!
Mckenna also crafted a bookcase, painted it and also painted the scale model ferryboat, the four of them had put it together and then Mckenna painted it for Rainbow.
And lastly her photo wall!
She turned it to a random song and tried it out, she had a blast!
After regular dancing was done, she found Mckenna's old exercise videos and put in the dancing one (This is because of kids can do more mod).
She was making cute faces so slight spam incoming~
This mod was done well, the kids feet go through the floor a bit and they may hover a bit, but hey, maybe they just have the dancing powers so amazingly hard lol.
In this pic she tried to do a spin but slipped but caught herself!
Feeling very energized she decided to go clean the bathroom! At a girl! (a mod by Zulf lets kids clean)
Rest Of The Rotation
To go out to eat! Heh!
They had a lovely meal but they stayed a little longer so Rainbow could finish her drawing~
Also YAY! Max maxed out his parenting skill! Woot!
Rainbow waits for her breakfast burrito to be finished, lol what a Mckenna stance that is! xD
Her home-school meets up once in a while for field trips, Paisley her friend and fellow home schooler, mom was coming to collect Rainbow since she was a chaperone, to see an educational puppet show.
She came home and told Bunnybow all about it!
She also could not wait to tell Hazel all she learned and find out if her school did things like that!
These two got home from work and Max finished up a side job while Lilith finished up her book, they both ate lunch together and got the sentiment happy from closer quality time or something it was really cute!~
Rainbow helps her aunts write and woodwork by playing the violin
LOL! she did not sound too, too bad she is getting better!
That is all for now
I'll leave what's going on here to your imaginations.
Side note: Had this on my mind all day but didn't get around to 'acting it out' in game.
So 2 of Sam's children were picking on Melony and her brother and 2 sisters(the three weren't present) about not being a 'true Denny' because they don't have the blonde hear. Feeling down, Melony heads to a park to sit down and sulk. Little does she know she's about to be paid a visit..
???: "Hey there, why the long face?"
Melony: "Met some DINOSAUR COUSINS OF MINE bagging on my hair color. "
???: "Why are they doing that?"
Melony: "Because most members of my family are blondes."
Melony: "Only my brother Henry and my sister Wanda inherited blondness from my mother, who got it from her mother and so forth."
???: "So..these guys making you feel like you're not part of the family?"
Melony: "Yes."
???: "How much do you know about your family?"
Melony: "Not much, I've only met Uncle Sam. No one talks about our family history beyond the stupid hair color!."(not to be confused with the US Tax man)
Melony: "I gotta admit, it feels weird..talking to a ghost."
???: "Oho! I wanna show you something.."
The two traveled to New Crest..
???: "So you don't know about this place?"
Melony: "..The Denny Family gallery? Who are you?"
???: "Go in and find out."
Melony: "WHAT IN THE HECK!?"
Laitha: Yep. You're greatgreatgreatgreatgreatgrandmother was born a brunette, just like you are right now. Don't let what those guys say about you or your siblings get to you. You are all my family and you will always belong."
Thanks! I play with aging only in my active household, so any time a townie or premade becomes important to one of my played sims I have to either move them into a played household or age them with cake until they're old enough for the retirement community. I don't mind general background sims living eternally but if their relationships with my sims are significant I want them to have a normal lifespan. I never thought about having them killed off... but I have done that to a few townies to get my ghost household.
I enjoyed watching Calden experience the world on land.
@HillyBeth Brayden is so cute in those glasses! He looks like a little genius.
@Duvelina Poor Veronica, hope Max figures it out. They both looked very nice!
@Nushnushganay Welcome back!
@DarkAngel1994 I am enjoying your Cinderella generation! Nice ball pictures.
@sarabeth2984 Thank you! The well was definitely good to Leslie! Clint is a good looking alien. I loved seeing a plantsim again... I have never had one in 4. I'll have to find a way to work them in somewhere.
@Lady_Earth I always love seeing Sims 2 Strangetown sims!
@Lucy_Henley Helen is pretty! Congrats to Caroline, that's quite an achievement!
@sunblond Nice update! I wish Stanley luck.
@AngeliqueAdelaide I only have two unflirty sims so I haven't noticed that. Perhaps they're just shy and once in a relationship are perfectly happy to engage? As long as they don't have to see anyone else flirt in public, lol. How many children did Morgyn have again? Whatever made them decide to all have kids at the same time? Heh. Athena had 16 grandchildren but they range from YA to toddler at the moment. Much more manageable.
@Sepia Your sims are really nice looking. I like the pirate themed park! Cute date.
@DeafSimmer Zelda has come far. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have in store for them.
@Lyrie Thanks! I was surprised to lose Vivian so soon, but the others had been elders for a while so it wasn't unexpected. That leaves Supriya, Dennis and Bella as the last members of the first generation. Vanessa is an awesome sim, so glad she's there for Hazel and that Beck is there for her.
@SamDenny Lol. I have no idea but at least Strawberry bear is happy.
@AlwaysAsking Don't know if you're reading but you had asked about my ghost household so I wanted to let you know I'm posting about them.
Ok, so my ghost household is the playable ghost versions of Diego Lobo, Don Lothario and Gunther Munch.
Diego and Tarsus, the living sim he managed to get engaged to last rotation, are still going strong. Even though one of them is doing a serial romantic aspiration and the other is non-committal. Oh, and one of them being dead.
Don is constantly exercising, so since I have university now I got him a bike and have not regretted it, even if he does ride it in the house.
And Gunther has decided to become a medium... how does that even work when you're dead? He gets to experience the new scared emotion a lot.
Pretty much every other picture I took of them this weekend has pumpkins on their heads because that's my favorite thing about ghosts. For pumpkin-headed shenanigans, check under this spoiler.
They also have a living Patchy, so their seances...
And for how they deal with the haunted house trait and fear emotion, look under this one:
I added the haunted house trait and the Guidry painting to their lot. At first the specters were cute.
They actually are still cute when they scowl.
But then they get mean.
So Gunther gave them plenty of presents. Mostly grilled fruit that Don harvested from the garden and Diego cooked.
They never turned down grilled fruit. They left little gifts too. Deigo Likes ectocake.
Over time things got a little weirder.
These puddles freaked Patchy out.
So Patchy freaked Don out.
Guidry appeared, and met Diego first.
Gunther asked him some serious questions, and asked for help when he was scared.
Diego had other priorities.
They held a seance while wearing ghost-carved pumpkins (both ghosts carved in the pumpkins and pumpkins carved by ghosts!)
We got as far as creepy doll appearing and then their week was up. I'm glad though, I didn't want to finish all the gameplay in one rotation.
OK, and one more spoiler for shots of my other sims in the background.
And Finnian, Morgan and Farrah.
Also I have never used this cauldron light show before. Cordelia seems to enjoy it.
Later at my fancy restaurant I saw Klaatu taking his girlfriend Ember on a date.
Not so much my sims, but Don's married girlfriend showed up with her husband... can't imagine why she's cheating with a ghost but might have something to do with excessive accessories.
So that's it for this week! I have decided for the future that Gunther will wear green pumpkins, Diego white, and Don pale orange, so I can more easily tell who's who in the screenshots! It was a challenge this time. I'll use the dark orange as decorations once they have enough handiness to preserve them.
Happy Simming!
As for Alex, I think the spellcaster route might be a better idea. However, he needs that potion of immortality to stay young forever. On the other hand, I did think of another option. The potion of youth could be another way for sims to halt their aging.
I also forgot to respond about Calden. He's definitely enjoying the human world, but I need to get cracking down on the skill building and character values. He's halfway through his rotation and he still has a ways to go. Merfolk in my game get twice as long as humans before aging up, so He has another rotation. Once he reaches young adult, he'll stop aging. Adult is the maximum age for merfolk in my game. I'm trying to avoid issues with how the game recognizes relationships.
For the Kailani Legacy, I'll have to turn family members into townies once they become adults.
The Singles: Larry and Chloe are married and have their own place to live. Erin has moved in with the Capp family and I'm planning on moving Cielo into the original Singles household (which now just has Kristin, Bud and Lola in it).
Here's Bud at a birthday party, trying to convince all the toddlers of how cool he is. He even tried to hug one of them and got promptly rejected for it.
When Bud is not at his job as a small time crime boss, he's taking care of him and Lola's daughter, Marcy. (Named after the Bundy's neighbor from the show.)
I can't cope with the volume and speed of this thread, but dimly remembered there were like 2 people who might want a heads-up, if they're even still watching this thread, which I also don't know. But it looks like a thriving and creative space.
Let's make Liberty and Justice For All a reality.
The Best of Hunni's Builds
Feel free to follow my builds!!!!!!:)
@AngeliqueAdelaide that is wonderful news, congrats on your growing family, we would like to see pictures of the toddlers please
Good to hear that I am not the only one who thinks so! Hypocrites, the whole bunch of them - throwing fits whenever anyone is romantic in public, only to turn around and autonomously pick up a love interest or ten. I have seen, for example, Darling Walsh getting more action than most of my romance sims. And not only her - my sweet, good and unflirty Marianna went and autonomously hooked up with three different guys, two of whom were already seeing other people. I ended up changing her unflirty trait to romantic, as she clearly is not unflirty at all. She actually flirts less now
@Daephene
I have actually stopped playing unflirty sims, because all this trait does is make them throw fits whenever they see people being romantic, only to turn around and behave even worse. There are several unplayed unflirty sims in my game, though, and all of them keep picking up lovers left and right, not exactly how I´d envision unflirty sims behaving.
Morgyn has, let me think... 7 children, including two sets of twins (there are actually more, but Esme would kill and eat anyone who mentions the nameof her father and the rest are not currently living at this timeline. Out of seven, only the eldest is without a kid of her own (she is family-oriented and intends to have some in the future, but both she and her husband are currently too busy with their studies and getting his photo business going to deal with kids. Plus her husband has 4 grandchildren they regularly babysit.)
There are several multiples among the grandchildren: a set of quaduplets, a set of triplets and three sets of twins. They weren´t all born at the same time, I just play rotationally and keep running from the adorable, exhausting toddlers before they are ready to age up. The quads are the eldest and will age up next time I play their household.
@mightysprite
Thanks! Easier said than done
I haven't seen this happen in my game, but I haven't played the Darkfins Household or Morbius Household (My Evil Sim Households).
@Daephene For Alex and Lucas I think I'll decide based on their looks when they grow up. I know the game can do weird things with genetics and aging up.
For Alexander: I'm torn between a spellcaster, vampire, or scientist. I can see a spellcaster drinking a potion of immortality while the scientist can create an immortality serum. The vampire route would be the easiest.
For Lucas: I think turning him into a merman would actually work. All my merfolk almost always get the Outdoorsy, Energetic, and Adventurous Lifestyles doing the things that come naturally to merfolk. I think these lifestyles fit Lucas's character.
I think Ember could get along with a half-blood merman that enjoys life on land.
Axel’s plan to play the evil vampire has had some mixed results. He goes to hunt, picks a house at random and invites himself in just when the doofus resident sets their grill on fire and rushes out. The other one is too busy watching a blank TV.
Axel autonomously goes to put out the fire looking irritated all the while.
Then he drinks her dry and leaves without saying a word. I guess the residents must have conflicting feelings about him
I wanted to make another edit for my income rules. Because Tips can't be turned off, and even though Calden played horribly and still received tips, I think tips received while practicing music can be allowed. Intentionally soliciting for tips is not.
On another note, I noticed that I set up a museum that gives several options for improving skills. Most importantly, it's an Eco Center dedicated to research. I made the lot an Arts Center to increase foot traffic, and the lot can be a community space as well. This means that I will get my income by selling items at a market stall from now on.
Here's Nancy Landgrab being naked during one of their dates.
Larry ended up getting beamed up aliens, but didn't end up pregnant. Then again, he is at the Adult stage.
I named their son, Lovage, which is the last name of Larry's nephew (who is also named Larry). While he has his father's wider face, he's got his mother's nose.
Finally, Lovage has his own charm as he hugs his aunt Lola.
For now, I have some screenshots of the last time I played the Paraskevas family. Some of this is from Alexander's POV, some is from Anastasia's POV.
I also used a cheat to give both Alexander and Helen the "weak bloodline" trait as they didn't already have it, I'm guessing because they were generated in CAS.
***
Paraskevas Family: Alexander
I was feeling rather tired, but I didn't want to go to bed yet... it was New Year's Eve! So I grabbed some coffee and settled down to watch the New Year's Eve TV.
Soon, it was time for the countdown, and we all began chanting along... zershooby!
Midnight struck. My parents shared a kiss and I hugged Helen.
The next day, I learned that the Festival of Youth was taking place in Mt Komorebi. Mum and I decided to take Helen along.
"It looks pretty cool," I remarked to Mum, looking around. "If only I was still a kid..."
Whilst Helen sat down at one of the art tables, Mum grabbed a plate of yaki soba and we sat down at a bench.
"It is a shame that there's nothing for teens here," Mum said. "Why don't you invite Erytheia to come over?"
"Good idea."
Helen, meanwhile, was having a great time. She had fun finding virtual voidcritters and taking selfies with Yamachan.
"You know, Love Day's coming up soon," I said, sitting next to Erytheia.
"Yeah. We should go out on a date," she replied. "Hopefully Mum won't turn up this time."
"Oh yeah, that was embarrassing," I grinned.
"And we should probably kiss somewhere more romantic than our upstairs bathroom," she grinned ruefully. "Why I thought that was a good idea..."
"Well, it was the only place we were going to get privacy, we had a club meeting going on remember?"
Paraskevas Family: Anastasia
Part of my job one day was to spray graffiti in public. It felt a little wrong, but no-one came to interrupt me as I sprayed.
I went to the Humour and Hijinks festival that evening, and invited Caroline Masterson to join me. We decided to join the Jokesters team.
We had fun setting off fireworks and chatting.
"You know, we haven't had a Spellcasters Unite meeting in ages," I remarked.
"No, well, life's been busy... but we really should," Caroline agreed.
"I wonder if our kids will get together and create a teen spellcasters club? It may only consist of them, but it'd be fun for them all to practise."
"Yes, that's true," Caroline said. "They could call it Ginger Teen Spellcasters."
We both laughed.
When Alexander came home from school one day, I could tell he was having a mood swing. Knowing full well what they were like, I sensibly stayed out of the way and got on with making Helen's birthday cake.
Soraya has taken a bit of a break from her Youtube career to focus more on her club. The girls came over and had a great time outside.
They did their best to avoid Kaylyn, who was upset about a bird attack.
Thankfully, it was nothing a little retail therapy couldn’t cure. She got some new outfits for the warmer weather.
Then, she had a club meeting of her own to play cards and gossip.
(Heading over to the Spivey-Joneses so that I could finally put them in a decent house.)
The family welcomed the Hargroves over as their first guests.
Soraya came over and was uncharacteristically angry about... something.
But a few jokes from her sister, Kaylyn, put her in better spirits to have fun.
Deon Spivey has picked up a bunch of weight. He is going to work on jogging more, but maybe he should put down the grilled cheeses before he does that.
A few miles on the treadmill and voila! He’s looking much leaner.
(Back to the Hargroves.)
Kali and Simon are discussing their upcoming trip to a French village. Maybe they should invite the Spivey-Joneses?
Random pic of Kali in the summer sun: